


Sacrifice

by Midorisakura (Calacious)



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Community: cottoncandy_bingo, Fluff and Angst, Kid Fic, M/M, Protectiveness, Steve Feels, Trope Bingo Round 3, Trust Issues, de-aged Danny Williams, mentions of future crossover possibilities, slight crossover, use of 'magical' sceptor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-25
Updated: 2014-06-06
Packaged: 2018-01-26 10:56:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1685810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calacious/pseuds/Midorisakura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny makes a sacrifice, and Steve ends up dealing with the consequences. Funny thing? Steve doesn't mind the consequences as much as he thought he would, and he ends up learning a lot, not only about Danny, but also about himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> This one got a bit out of control.
> 
> Let me know if you like this; if it's something that you are interested in reading. 
> 
> I know there will be errors in grammar; I'm okay with that (trying not to obsess;it's a bit of an OCD issue for me -- I have seriously edited this announcement about five times now).

" _You_ are under arrest, mister."

Steve glances at the young passenger in the seat beside him, and suppresses a smile. The five year old is outright glaring at Steve, and has his arms crossed over his chest. The kid looks like he's ready to bolt, even though he's buckled securely into the seat, and they're making good time on H-1.

"How do you reckon that?" Steve asks, checking the rear-view mirror.

"Last time I checked, kidnapping was a fed'ral 'ffense." The little boy scowls at Steve.

'If looks could kill,' Steve thinks with a low whistle, 'I'd be a goner.'

"Danny, for the fifth time, my name is Steven J. McGarrett, we're good friends, partners even. I'm not kidnapping you," Steve says, letting some of his frustration over the mind-boggling situation bleed through.

Danny's eyes grow wide and he throws his hands up. "I think I'd remember having a friend the age of dinosaurs."

"Hey! I'm not _that_ old," Steve defends, trying hard not to take anything mini-Danny says personally. He knows that, as hard as all of this is on him, it's even harder on the five year old.

Danny rolls his eyes, and slumps back in his seat. He turns his glare from Steve, and looks out of the window. Wrapping his arms around himself, he sighs dramatically, and mutters something that Steve can't quite make out.

Whatever it is, it isn't a compliment, and Steve bites back a sarcastic retort that adult Danny would counter with one of his own. Bantering with a five year old wasn't really on Steve's list of things to do.

"Five year olds and people your age aren't friends," Danny says matter-of-fact.

Steve grips the wheel tightly, takes a deep breath, and tamps down on his anger. _And I thought the adult version of Danny was difficult to deal with._

"Look, I know that it's confusing. I don't really understand what happened myself, but -"

"Some god," Danny makes air quotes around the word, god, "named _Loki_ , waved a magical wand, and turned me into a kid." Danny's voice is dull and filled with disbelief. He sighs, and rests his forehead against the window pane.

"Exactly," Steve says, happy that Danny'd remembered what he'd said earlier. What he'd said multiple times, over the course of the past few days while Danny had been confined in a special wing at Queen's hospital.

"Except for the fact that _magic isn't real_ ," Danny places emphasis on the last three words, his cheeks growing pink with anger and frustration, which looks impressive on the five year old.

Steve clenches his jaw, and wishes, not for the first time since Loki had wreaked havoc on Honolulu, turning Danny, and several other police officers into kids, that Danny's adult memories had remained intact.

The only reason he, Chin, and Kono had managed not to be turned into younger versions of themselves was because Danny had pushed them aside and taken the full blast of Loki's magical scepter.

While others - Duke and Catherine amongst them - had returned to their rightful ages shortly after Loki had taken what he'd wanted (some ancient artifact from the museum) and left, Danny hadn't. He was still five years old, going on four and a half days later, and had zero recollection of any of his life beyond the age of five.

As a five-year-old, Danny's attitude toward Hawaii hadn't changed a bit. He thought it was too bright, that the ocean was much too big, and that there was too much sand, too many palm trees, and the list went on from there.

Kono thought that the reason for Danny's poor attitude was because he was scared and was having a hard time adjusting. And Steve supposed that it would be hard to wake up in another place, surrounded by strangers who claimed to know you, but he also thought that Danny would stop being so skeptical after awhile. The truth hadn't worked on Danny, but knowing how Danny felt about lying, they hadn't wanted to lie to him either,.

Kono had offered to take Danny home with her, to watch over him while they waited for the Avengers to get back to them. Waiting at Five-0 quarters was no longer an option, and they all needed to get some rest.

Apparently the attack on Honolulu had been the first of many, and the Avengers were working on taking him down. What Loki was hoping to accomplish was anyone's guess. Steve just wanted whatever he'd done to Danny to be reversed so that he could have his partner back.

"Look, Danny, I know that this is a lot to take in, and difficult to grasp, but -"

"You aren't going to let me go, are you?" Danny's voice is small, defeated, and his eyes are shut tightly. His hands are fisted, and he's trembling slightly. He sucks his bottom lip between his teeth, and stiffens when Steve places a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Danny," Steve says, drawing his hand back.

"What are you going to do to me?" Danny asks, and he swallows audibly. "Please..."

"Danny, listen to me carefully, listen to the tone of my voice," Steve says, praying that Danny will believe him, that he can erase that note of fear in Danny's voice. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. I'm just going to look after you for awhile."

"I just wanna go home," Danny says, voice plaintive, and he scrubs at his eyes with a fist. "I thought...I thought that I could go home now."

"I know, buddy." Steve reaches for Danny, but pulls his hand back when he sees that the little boy is fighting off panicked tears.

"Did you kill my family?"

Danny's quiet question feels like a sucker punch, and Steve sucks in a breath. He shakes his head. "No, Danny, I didn't kill your family. I'd never hurt you, or anyone you care about."

"My parents don't have a lot of money," Danny says in a rush. He casts a furtive look in Steve's direction, his wide, fearful eyes meeting Steve's in the rearview mirror. "They...they can't pay to get me back."

"Danny," Steve's voice breaks on the second syllable. "It's not like that, I'm not holding you for ransom. I'm..." he searches for the right words, something that would make sense to a little kid sharp as Danny.

"I'm your babysitter." Steve smiles when he hits upon the right words, hoping that Danny will believe him.

Danny turns in his seat and stares hard at Steve. Brow furrowed, he eyes Steve for what feels like an eternity, before he turns to look out of the window once again. Steve feels sweat gather at the back of his neck, and on his upper lip. He'd thought that it was hard when adult Danny stared him down. Adult Danny had nothing on this pint-sized version of himself, however.

"No you're not," Danny says, but his shoulders are no longer stiff, and his eyes are dry. "You're too tough to be a babysitter," he mutters.

"Is that so?" Steve asks, preening a little.

Danny shakes his head, lets it bang lightly against the window. He's got his hands splayed in his lap, and looks more dejected than Steve has ever seen him - adult or otherwise.

"Babysitters don't have tattoos, or carry guns," Danny says. Steve can feel Danny's sidelong glance. It almost sears.

"Well, how about if you consider me your bodyguard?" Steve asks warily.

He's tired, exhausted, really. It's been a long forty-eight hours, and Steve hasn't slept for any of them.

Up until a couple of hours ago, Danny'd been hospitalized after being hit with the beam Loki's weapon, though Danny had taken a nap at the hospital, earlier that day, Steve can see that the boy is tired too. He hopes that, when they get home, Danny won't give him a hard time about getting some sleep. They could both use a break from all of this craziness.

"Bodyguard?" Danny's voice picks up a little, and Steve can see an almost smile reflected in the glass of the passenger's window.

"Your very own, personal bodyguard," Steve says, putting as much enthusiasm in his voice as he can muster.

Danny sighs, lifts his shoulders in a shrug, and frowns. "Am I in danger? Is that why I can't go home?"

Steve latches onto the lie, knowing that adult Danny would probably kick his ass for doing it. Danny doesn't lie, not even to kids, and doesn't abide by lies. Steve doesn't see another way to earn the younger version of Danny's trust, so he nods.

"Yes, Danny," Steve uses a serious tone of voice, taking solace in the thought that what he's saying isn't a complete lie.

In a way, Danny, as a child, is in danger, especially with the media reporting the fact that, while the others had been re-aged, Detective Williams hadn't. Danny had made plenty of enemies throughout his career - he was good at his job. Enemies who would think nothing of kidnapping a child and making him pay for the 'sins' of an adult.

If the scientists on the Avengers' team can't figure out a way to 'fix' Danny, Steve might become his partner's bodyguard, permanently. Not that he'd do anything less, but he really hopes that he won't have to, that he'll be able to get 'his' Danny back. He's already starting to miss him.

"And my family's safe?" Danny turns to look at Steve. His blue eyes are sharp and inquisitive. He'll know, in a heartbeat, if Steve lies.

This one's easy though, because Loki has left the east coast, and Danny's family is completely unscathed, safe and sound. Steve nods.

"Your family's fine, Danny. It's you that we need to worry about." Steve winces, regretting his words the moment they leave his mouth and Danny pales.

"Is someone trying to kill me?" Danny's voice is small, and he's watching Steve.

"I'm here to protect you, Danny," Steve says, not really answering Danny's question, and hoping that the five year old won't call him out on it.

To his relief, Danny doesn't say anything. He bites his bottom lip, and shudders. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me," Steve says, guilt gnawing at his stomach.

"My Ma says it's polite to thank people who help you," Danny's tone is slightly chastising.

"You're welcome," Steve forces the words from his lips.

"Where are we going?" Danny rests his head against the window once again, watches cars and buildings pass by in a blur.

"To ou...er my place," Steve catches himself just in time.

"It's got a state-of-the-art alarm system," Steve adds when Danny frowns.

"Oh." Danny's voice is dull, defeated, and the little boy stifles a yawn behind his fist. "Are the bad guys really scary? How many of them are there?"

His real question, Steve understands, will remain unasked: are you going to be able to keep me safe?

"Don't worry about it, Danny," Steve says. "I've got it covered, you'll be safe at my place. I promise."

"Wish you were 'tecting my family," Danny says.

"Your family's safe and well-protected." Steve thinks that even adult Danny would approve of that white lie.

Danny sighs heavily, opens his mouth and closes it, turns his head enough so that he can see Steve's face, gauge his reaction to whatever it is little boy is working up to saying.

"Is this 'cause I saw Little Tony shoot that man?" Danny's voice is small, pained. His hands are twisted in his lap, the knuckles white.

"I..." Danny's breath hitches. "I wasn't 'posed to be there."

Steve's heart jumps to his throat. He hadn't known that Danny had witnessed a murder when he was a child. It's terrifying and, though Steve knows that Danny survived his childhood, he has a hard time getting his heart rate under control, because all he can see is what could've happened to Danny if, all those years ago, Little Tony, whoever the hell that was, had been aware of the young witness to the murder.

Steve's not sure if he should use that childhood trauma to give credence to his bodyguard ruse, or if he should make something else up. He's saved from having to make that decision when Danny closes his eyes, and seems to accept Steve's silence for confirmation of his worst fears.

"I tried to be quiet," Danny says, his voice almost pleading. "I ran home, straight away, and didn't say nothing to no one about it."

"It wasn't your fault, Danny," Steve reassures the little boy, rests his hand on Danny's shoulder, and is relieved when any Danny doesn't shrug him off this time. "None of this is your fault."

"Did you lie to me about magic, 'cause you thought I'd be too scared?" Danny asks.

Steve is torn. If he lies, there's the possibility that Danny, when he returns to his status as an adult, will be more than a little angry with him. The lies he's telling his partner might drive a wedge between them. Might undo the trust they've built over the years, and might sully their newly developing relationship.

He doesn't really have a choice though. Not if he wants Danny to cooperate. Sighing, Steve shrugs, and nods, offers Danny a sheepish grin.

"Thought it'd be easier than the truth," Steve says, his mouth feeling dry.

"The truth is always the best policy," Danny says, his voice a younger reflection of his adult self.

"Your ma tell you that, too?" Steve wants to get off of this topic, wants to keep the true lies at a minimum.

Danny shakes his head. "No, my Pop."

"What happens when you tell a lie?" Steve is curious.

Danny's said little to him about his childhood. He's mentioned what his mother and father do, and Steve knows Danny has siblings, but, beyond that, Steve knows little else. Danny's strangely tight-lipped about his childhood and family.

Danny blinks at him and gives Steve an incredulous look. His mouth opens and closes and Steve is reminded of a fish.

"I don't lie." In those three, sincerely spoken words, Danny manages to make Steve feel almost ashamed of every lie he's ever told.

"So, there's no circumstances under which you'd lie?" Steve asks, partially out of curiosity, and partially because Danny's made his conscience sting just a little.

Danny looks at him as though he thinks Steve is crazy, and shakes his head. "Uh-uh."

"Well, what about if your ma asked you if she looked pretty in an ugly dress?" Steve asks, not wanting to concede defeat to the five-year-old.

Danny shorts. "Ma don't wear ugly dresses-"

"But what if -" Steve is determined to play this out.

"Ma looks beautiful no matter what, and it wouldn't be no lie to tell her so, ugly dress or not," Danny says with great conviction.

He frowns at Steve, and stuffs himself further into the corner of his seat - far away from Steve. The message is loud and clear, and Steve wonders how things devolved so quickly.

"Okay," Steve says, hoping to mollify Danny with his concession. He spreads his fingers out on the steering wheel, not wanting to risk being chastised by the five-year-old for not driving safely. "From here on out, I'll be completely honest with you."

"I'm hungry," Danny says, and he casts Steve a sidelong look as they pass a McDonald's. He's fidgeting with his seat belt, running his fingers up and down the flat part of it as though nervous about something.

"Okay, we'll stop off at McDonald's and get something to eat. How does that sound?" Steve asks, and he's rewarded with the first real smile that he's seen Danny make since he was turned into a kid. It makes his heart swell, and twists his gut. It's a good feeling, and Steve feels like he's won something.

A Happy Meal for Danny, a sensible salad for Steve, and some time spent in the playground, where Danny runs off some energy that Steve didn't know the youngster yet possessed after their grueling day, and they are finally on their way home.

Adult Danny has been calling Steve's place home for the past six months, but everything will be new to the five year old, and Steve isn't sure he's got the energy to handle any of the questions that the pint-sized child will ask.


	2. Asking All Them Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny, it turns out, asks a lot of questions. Steve doesn't even know where to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so very much for all of those who have supported this. 
> 
> This chapter is pretty much fluff...some Steve angst. Hope you like it. :-)

Five-year-old Danny, it turns out, asks _a lot_ of questions, and by the time that Steve manages to get Danny tucked into the guest bedroom (Mary’s old room, directly across from Steve’s), he’s exhausted, dreaming of sleep.

Five minutes after he’s tucked Danny into bed -- which involved the reading of a story (thank God some of Mary’s childhood favorites had been left behind, which had launched a whole series of questions from Danny -- _Are you married? Do you have a kid? Then how come you have kids books? Does your sister live here? How old is she? How come she doesn’t live here? Where’s your mom and dad?_ ), a good night prayer (during which Danny thanked God for his bodyguard and asked for forgiveness for going down the back alley when he shouldn’t have), and a hug and kiss before tucking the covers up beneath Danny’s chin -- and Steve’s tugged from an almost sleep by the sound of sniffling and feet shifting outside of his door.

Steve grunts and rolls over. He’s tired, and his back hurts, and he’s not so sure that he can handle Danny if he’s crying. He’s not a coward, not by a long shot, but Danny’s always been better at handling children in a vulnerable state, and he has no idea what to do if Danny really is crying.

Steve tiptoes to his door, and inwardly curses himself. He’s good with Grace, Danny’s told him so on more than one occasion. There’s nothing to fear in a smaller, younger version of the man that he’s grown to love. Absolutely nothing. Steve’s good with Williams’, he’s proven his mettle over and over again. He _can_ handle this.

“Danny?” Steve keeps his voice low as he opens his door. He doesn’t want to startle Danny.

Danny’s breath hitches, and he blinks up at Steve. His hair -- curly and a dirty blond in its natural state -- is tousled. He bites his lower lip and swallows.

“What’s wrong, sport?” Steve kneels in front of Danny, so that they’re eye-level. Something he’d learned from the adult that’s now a child.

“Can’t sleep,” Danny whispers, and he doesn’t quite hold Steve’s gaze.

He’s dressed in one of Steve’s old, cast off tee-shirts, and it looks overly large on him, like Danny’s being swallowed in the fabric, the hem of the shirt goes down to well below Danny’s knees. It’s completely and utterly adorable, and Steve knows that, if Kono were present, many a photo would have been taken by now.

“Did you have a nightmare?” Steve asks, though he knows it’s too soon for Danny to have had a dream of any sort, because he’d just tucked the little boy in and crawled into his own bed not more than five minutes ago.

Danny shakes his head, and he clasps his hands in front of him. He’s got one foot resting on top of the other, and is looking at a spot on the floor, his long eyelashes obscuring Steve’s view of his eyes.

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Steve asks, placing a finger underneath Danny’s chin and tilting the little boy’s face up so that he can see his eyes.

Danny’s bright blue eyes sparkle in the dimly lit hallway -- the nightlight Steve had left in Mary’s former room is giving off a steady, yet weak, stream of whitish-blue light that bathes the hallway in strange shadows -- indicating that he’d been crying, and it nearly breaks Steve’s heart. He takes a deep breath, and manages to muster a smile for Danny.

Danny’s breath hitches, and his eyes screw up tight, and he fists his hands at his side. His chest heaves with a sob that he tries to hold in, and Steve doesn’t think, he simply acts. He pulls Danny to himself and lifts him up, cradles the little boy to his chest, and pats his back as he gently rocks him and whispers soothing words against his ear.

The sight of Danny putting up such a brave front in the face of so many unknowns is wreaking havoc on Steve’s emotions, so he closes his eyes, concentrates on the way that Danny feels in his arms -- solid and secure.

Danny wraps his arms around Steve, and it’s like a torrent is set loose. The little boy sobs against Steve’s chest and Steve does his best to console him. He settles back on his bed, and lets Danny cry himself out, while rubbing circles along the small of Danny’s back, and murmuring: _it’s okays,_ _I’ve got yous_ , and _just let it all out buddies_.

When he’s all cried out, Danny wipes his nose on Steve’s tee-shirt, and rests his head on Steve’s chest. He tucks a thumb into his mouth, and lets out a shuddering sigh.

Steve brushes a lock of hair out of Danny’s fluttering eyes, and he shifts into a more comfortable position. It’s clear to him that Danny’s not going anywhere, the grip that he’s got on the back of Steve’s neck is surprisingly strong, reminds him a little of how tenacious adult Danny can be, how strong the man that he loves is.

“Nigh’,” Danny mumbles. “Love you.”

It feels like the hand that Danny’s using to grip the back of Steve’s neck is being applied to Steve’s heart. “Love you too, buddy,” Steve whispers around the sudden lump in his throat.

Steve kisses Danny’s forehead, closes his eyes, and falls asleep to the soft snores of the five-year-old. The slight weight of the child is a comfort, and Steve wonders if he and Danny will one day adopt, because he kind of, maybe, sort of likes this.

 


	3. Breakfast Waffles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As he takes care of five-year-old Danny, Steve begins to understand a lot of things about adult Danny, such as why he makes waffle batter the night before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Silly fluff and mild Steve angst and worry. 
> 
> Thank you so much for the wonderful support! I hope that those who've been reading enjoy this chapter.
> 
> Edited for time zone issues pointed out by tulipsme - thanks for the catch (I've changed an aspect of the plot a little as a result) - I really am very bad with time.

Adult Danny is not a morning person, by a long shot, so, when six AM rolls around (for once, after the last couple of days that Steve's had, too early) and he's met with an overly exuberant greeting and a bony knee to the groin, Steve is wholly unprepared.

At first, he's not sure what's assaulted him and Steve _almost_ pulls the k-bar he keeps beneath his pillow. As it is, before he's got his eyes open, Steve flips his assailant, and is pinning him to the bed, on hand on the -- in his head -- would be assassin's neck and the other wrapped around wrists that seem way too small.

When he finally manages to open his eyes, there are two, wide, blue eyes set in a slightly freckled, white face staring up at him. Steve releases his hold on Danny, whose looking up at him with something akin to wide-eyed wonder more than fear, and sits up. He scrubs a hand down his face.

"Shit, Danny, I'm sorry, I..."

"Wow, that was cool! You said a bad word." The words come out in a rush that Steve, at this early hour, has difficulty parsing, and when they finally do register, Steve blushes. Danny pushes up on his elbows, eyes sparkling with excitement.

"That was just like GI Joe. Are you in the army?" Danny sits up and kneels, pushes his face up close to Steve's, and peers into his eyes, as though he can determine whether or not Steve is an army man by looking into his very soul.

"Navy, Danno," Steve says, his response automatic. He relaxes, moves to sit beside Danny.

Danny's nose scrunches up and his brow furrows. He turns to Steve and scrambles into his lap -- sharp elbows and knees hitting Steve in places that make him wince.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Danny asks, and Steve sighs.

He ruffles Danny's hair and thinks that he's got a rare opportunity to maybe set things to rights for future interactions with his often irascible partner who's perpetually baiting him with his inability to differentiate between the various military branches. Maybe his partner's faux pas were more innocent than Steve has been led to believe. Maybe he really doesn't understand the differences, and this is Steve's opportunity to right a woeful wrong.

"No, kiddo, the Army and Navy are two distinct branches of the military. Army..." Steve searches his mind for the right words, something a five year old would be able to grasp. "Well, the Army, see they fight on the land, and the Navy fights on the water."

"But they both fight bad guys, like COBRA, right?" Danny's twisted in Steve's lap, peering up at him with an eager look on his face, his hands move as he speaks, this at least familiar with Steve's understanding of Danny.

"Is it Saturday? Can we watch cartoons? Deep Six is my favorite GI Joe. He drives a S.H.A.R.C. -- a 'mersible, attack and recon craft. That's like you, right Steve? So maybe he's Navy too. Do you drive a S.H.A.R.C. like Deep Six? 'Cause I think that maybe he's really in the Navy, but maybe he works with the Army. Do you sometimes work with the Army too?"

Steve reels with the dizzying array of rapid-fire questions. He has no idea which, if any of them, to answer first.

"Uh...it's Thursday."

Danny's face falls, but he immediately perks up and clasps his hands in front of him and then releases them widely.

"Can we play with Legos? When do I go to school? At home I go to kin'ergarden. 'S jus' a ha'f day. I like Miss Lily. She's nice. Did you meet Miss Lily? She's got long, black hair. It's pretty, but her nose is big." Danny moves to his knees and leans close to Steve and whispers the last part, eyes comically wide. He stifles a giggle behind his hand.

Steve blinks in response, and makes a mental note to keep Danny away from all things sugary. Today's version of Danny is a complete one-eighty from the reserved, untrusting kid of yesterday, and Steve wonders how Danny's parents were able to keep up with him, let alone multiples of him.

Steve gets a vision of Danny, in his current state, multiplied by a dozen and he has to take a deep, fortifying breath, because that is a truly terrifying prospect right now.

"How about if we get some breakfast first, champ?" Steve counters all of Danny's questions with a question of his own.

"Can I have Lucky Charms?" Danny asks, and just the way that he asks, with a sparkle in his eye and a sly smile on his face cues Steve in on the fact that Danny's trying to pull something over on him.

"Sorry." Steve shakes his head, and, when Danny's smile fades, he's quick to add. "But we can make waffles."

Danny had recently bought a special waffle iron that made waffles in the shape of sea animals. As a matter of fact, they’d just used it last weekend, when Grace had visited. The twelve-year-old hadn’t appeared to be overly thrilled with the concept, but she hadn’t complained, and had happily consumed several dolphin-shaped waffles with gusto.

Danny had seemed to prefer the crabs. Steve wonders what the child version of Danny will like -- if it’ll be the crab, or the dolphin, or maybe the seahorse. Steve had been partial to the dolphins himself, but had settled for the seahorses as neither Grace, nor Danny, had seemed to like them much.

Danny seems to consider this option very seriously, before finally grinning and nodding. “Can we have powdered sugar an’ syrup an’ butter an’ bacon?”

Steve barely resists the urge that he has to ruffle Danny’s hair again as he nods his assent. “We’ll make it a feast.”

Danny sighs heavily, and falls back against Steve. Danny digs his heel into Steve’s bladder, and he grunts, shifts the both of them so that he’s a little more comfortable and no longer in danger of taking yet another hit to the groin. Maybe having a little kid running around is not such a great idea after all.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” The change in Danny’s demeanor, from happy to deflated is a bit overwhelming and Steve isn’t sure what to do. He maneuvers so that he can see Danny’s eyes. The little boy’s playing with the bottom edge of the overlarge tee-shirt he’s wearing, and biting his bottom lip.

“I miss my ma,” Danny says, and he gives another shuddering sigh that shakes Steve and makes his stomach clench with sympathy for the little boy.

“I know you do, buddy,” Steve says.

“Can I call her?” Danny asks, his voice is so hopeful that Steve almost agrees without thinking, especially when Danny’s lower lip starts to tremble and he gives Steve a puppy dog look that Steve had thought Grace had patented. Apparently, she got that look from her father.

“A little later,” Steve hedges, unsure of how the five-year-old will react to the sound of his mother’s voice, possibly changed over time.

Danny sighs, and buries his face into Steve’s chest.

“It’s…” Steve says, eyeing the alarm clock. It’s six-thirty now, and Steve knows that Danny’s parents probably would like a call, because they haven’t been informed about any of this, but he doesn’t want to have Danny call when they’re unprepared to speak with a five-year-old, and not their adult son. It might be dramatic for both parties.

“Is it too dangerous to call?” Danny asks, frowning.

It could be dangerous, potentially. Steve errs on the side of caution and nods; Danny poses questions which are not at all unlike the adult version of himself when he’s working a case. Danny is, if anything, even more curious as a child, and fifteen minutes later, Steve feels like he’s run a marathon.

“Alright, I don’t know about you, little buddy, but I’ve got to use the little boy’s room,” Steve says, and Danny giggles at his choice of words.

“I gotta pee,” Danny says, clambering up Steve like a monkey and whispering it in his ear. He’s markedly happier with the promise that, after his nap (he always takes a nap just after lunch) he can call home.

Steve picks Danny up, dangling him upside down from his arm, a move which is met with a chorus of giggles. Danny kicks his feet in the air, and clings to Steve’s arm, all while protesting being carted around like a ‘possum, but begging not to be put down until they reach the bathroom. And here, Steve isn’t sure what to do, because he doesn’t know if the five-year-old needs help, or if he should give Danny some space.

The adult Danny would be appalled at the thought of Steve helping him. As a matter of fact, Danny had spurned Steve’s help when he’d been wounded a few months ago, preferring to hobble (painfully) to the bathroom on his own. Of course, Steve had helped him anyway, and gotten an earful of angry, almost abusive words, as a result. He’d ignored Danny, and pretended like Danny’s words, spoken out of pain and frustration, hadn’t hurt him.

“You okay on your own?” Steve asks when Danny crosses and uncrosses his legs but makes no move toward the toilet. Danny looks at him, and then at the floor, and hugs himself, suddenly shy.

“You want me to stay?” Steve crouches so that he’s eye-level with Danny, and his knees pop in protest at the move. He feels old, and doesn’t like it one bit.

Danny nods quickly, and reaches for Steve’s hand, tugs him toward the toilet. The move nearly causes Steve to fall on his ass, but his quick reflexes keep him upright, and he follows Danny’s lead, lifting the toilet seat, and stepping back, looking away while Danny does his business, and then helping him to clean up afterwards. It’s not as awkward as Steve had feared it would be. Danny needs a lift up to the sink to wash his hands, and he giggles when Steve’s fingers accidentally brush against his ribs, and Steve gives into the impulse to tickle him.

Danny hovers in the small space of the bathroom as Steve goes through his own morning ablutions, paying particular attention to Steve as he shaves. Steve lets Danny have a handful of shaving cream, and tries not to wince when Danny gets it all over his face, necessitating a quick bath, which turns out not to be as bad as Steve feared it would. Danny’s eager to have breakfast, and not so happy about the impromptu bath.

Steve pulls out another tee-shirt for Danny to wear, knowing that, eventually, if Danny stays this size for the foreseeable future, he’s going to have to get some clothing that’s Danny-size. He doesn’t relish the idea of sorting through the boxes in the garage, knowing that his mother had stored some of his old clothing there.

“Waffles, waffles, waffles,” Danny sings, dancing his way into the kitchen, back to the ball of energy he’d been upon first waking that morning. He grabs Steve’s hand and swings it with his as he continues to sing about waffles.

Steve plunks Danny up on the counter, and starts to work on making breakfast. Halfway into his endeavor, Steve understands why adult Danny gets waffle batter ready the night before, after the five-year-old version of his friend is covered, head-to-toe with flour and egg and who knows what else.

The five-year-old is happy though and Steve can’t help but smile and laugh along with the exuberant little boy. The fact that, after breakfast is over, Danny will need to take another bath and that Steve’ll need to dig out yet another tee-shirt for Danny to use isn’t lost on Steve, but, for now he overlooks all of that in favor of simply living in the moment as it suddenly hits him that this won’t last. That Danny will return to his adult self, and it could happen at any moment, maybe even without the aid of the Avengers.

It hits Steve harder than he expects it to, and he realizes that, when it does happen, even though he’s spent only a little bit of time with the five-year-old, he’ll miss this version of his partner when he becomes an adult once again.

It’s almost dizzying, and Steve isn’t sure what to make of it, but he takes a deep breath, and focuses on making breakfast with Danny, making a memory that only one of them may remember in the future. Because, he realizes, in this split second of clarity, that when Danny’s re-aged, he might not remember any of the time that he’s spent with Steve. It’s a sobering thought, and Steve is surprised to realize how much it aches to think that Danny might not remember this. That he might forget about making waffles with Steve.

Steve brushes flour off of his hands, and reaches for the phone he’s tucked into his back pocket. He acts quickly, snapping off a few photos before Danny realizes what he’s doing, and, until Danny gives him an almost fearful look and edges away from him, Steve doesn’t realize his mistake. Cell phones that fit into people’s pockets, let alone ones that could take photographs, didn’t exist when Danny was last five years old. It’s no wonder that the little boy is frightened.

“Danny, hey, it’s okay, this is a...uh, it’s a...” Steve struggles to find the words to explain a cell phone to someone who’s had no exposure to them.

Danny gives him, and the phone Steve’s holding aloft in his hand, a thoughtful look and inches closer to Steve and the phone. He reaches for it, and not really thinking things through, Steve lets Danny take his phone. The little boy turns it around in his hands and points it this way and that way, and it isn’t until he accidentally snaps a photo of his own that Steve gathers his wits about himself and rescues his now floured phone from the five-year-old.

“What is this?” Danny asks, tilting his head sideways.

“It’s a phone,” Steve says.

“But you were taking pictures with it,” Danny says. “You can’t take pictures with a phone.”

Danny crosses his arms over his chest and swings his legs over the edge of the counter. Steve gets the distinct impression that he’s about to be grilled, and is duly impressed with the five-year-old. Danny was a force to be reckoned with even at such a young age.

“It’s a special phone,” Steve says. “It’s called a cell phone,” he says the words slowly, and Danny raises an eyebrow in response.

“A cell phone?” Danny repeats, and he snorts, and laughs as though it’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard.

Steve wipes his cell phone off, and snaps a photo of Danny laughing his head off before returning the phone to his pocket.

“It’s a state-of-the-art military tool,” Steve says, bristling slightly as he plays it up for Danny.

If Danny does, perchance remember his time with Steve, he might regret this when Danny’s an adult, but for now he just hope that Danny buys what he’s selling.

“Really?” Danny leans forward, dangling almost precariously off the edge of the counter.

Steve’s heart momentarily stops, but he calmly shifts forward, makes sure that Danny doesn’t fall, and deftly plates the first set of sea-creature shaped waffles. It’s almost an art, and Steve wonders how fathers the world over manage to do this, daily, without having heart attacks.

“Time to eat,” Steve says, and he sets Danny up at the table, inconspicuously shoving the old phone books he’s been meaning to throw out underneath Danny so that he can reach the table without having to kneel on the chair.

Steve manages to get breakfast on the table in record speed -- five-year-old Danny likes the crab-shaped waffles even more than adult Danny does, and Steve’s stuck, once again, with the seahorses, because Danny apparently has a bottomless pit for a stomach, and prefers dolphins, secondary to crabs.

By the time breakfast is over and everything, including Danny and him, are cleaned up, Steve’s feeling every bit as exhausted as he was the night before, but Danny seems to have gained a second wind, though, to be fair, he never seems to have lost his first wind. Steve feels like a grandpa, and he isn’t used to feeling this old.


	4. The Ocean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny wants to play, but Steve only has a handful of crayons, some Barbie dolls and a half-used coloring book. He does, however, have a huge ocean in his backyard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited chapter 3 for a time zone issue (thanks tulipsme). 
> 
> This chapter has a lot of Steve introspection and revelation. 
> 
> Thanks a tons to those who've been supportive. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter.

“Where’re your Legos?” Danny spins around in the living room, the latest tee-shirt that Steve’s managed to scrounge up for Danny reaches down to well below his knees and it spirals out around him, almost like a skirt.

Steve resigns himself to digging through the boxes in his garage as soon as possible, maybe he’ll even find some toys for Danny while he’s at it. Though Steve doesn't remember playing with toys when he was a kid, he knows that he must have, that maybe it was something that he’d blocked out after his mother ‘died’.

“Um, sorry, I don’t have any Legos,” Steve says, and a quick perusal of his living room proves to be rather depressing. Other than a few Barbie dolls that Grace accidentally left behind that weekend, he’s got nothing to offer the kid.

“Can we go outside an’ play?” Danny tugs on Steve’s hand when Steve unearths a Barbie themed coloring book and a few broken crayons from beneath his couch. He’s pointing toward the bay windows, and gives the Barbie coloring book a scathing look.

“Good idea,” Steve says, though he wonders how the five-year-old will feel about the ocean that’s just outside.

Danny hasn’t been very impressed with the scenery of Hawaii thus far, but that was because he’d missed his mom and dad and had wanted to go home. Maybe, now that Danny has had some time to get used to the idea that this is temporary, that Steve is, for the time being his bodyguard, he’ll be okay with it.

“But, first, we’ve got to get our swimming trunks on, and we’ve got to put some sun block on,” Steve says, well aware of how fair Danny’s skin is.

Danny keeps some sun block at the house for when Grace visits, and there might be a pair of Grace’s board shorts that will fit Danny.

“But, they’re pink,” Danny says, after Steve’s finished lathering a thick layer of sun block on him.

He shakes his head at the proffered shorts, and gives Steve a look that, when he’s older, will make bad guys quiver. Right now, though, it looks downright adorable, especially when Danny crosses his arms over his chest and scowls. Steve hides a smile behind his hand, and shrugs.

“Have it your way; it’s either the pink shorts, or we stay inside and play with Barbies.” Steve keeps his face as neutral as possible when Danny glares at him, but holds one hand out for the shorts.

Steve turns his back to let Danny change into the shorts when Danny stares pointedly at him. He grumbles the entire time, and Steve has to hold his breath to keep from laughing aloud, because, for a five-year-old, Danny’s got quite an advanced vocabulary. Of course, he shouldn’t be all that surprised, because Danny’s vocabulary has always been on the advanced side.

“There, are you happy?” Danny asks, hands on his hips, and Steve can’t keep his laughter in check, but he picks Danny up before he can protest too much, and tucks him underneath his arm.

Steve’s got two beach towels under his other arm, as well as a pair of bamboo beach mats. Danny’d gotten them at Long’s Drugstore the other day, for him and Grace to use when they wanted to sit on shore and watch the spinner dolphins, or Kono surf.

By the time they’re outside, Danny’s giggling once again. Steve plucks up Grace’s pail and shovel set, ignores her bodyboard for now, because he doesn’t know how Danny’s going to react to the water, and he’s not too sure about putting the five-year-old on a bodyboard just yet. He knows that the trauma which caused Danny to dislike the ocean happened when Danny was a teenager, but Steve doesn’t know what the five-year-old is going to make of the huge body of water.

Steve doesn’t even know if Danny’s ever been to the ocean. Can’t remember ever hearing about Danny’s childhood, what his family did for vacations, or anything. Other than Matt’s story about Danny ‘arresting’ him at the zoo, Steve hasn’t heard squat about Danny as a kid.

It’s a little unsettling, that he knows so little about how Danny grew up, especially as Danny knows so much, but Steve tucks that thought away for another day, because he’s got the kid right in front of him now, and he doesn’t want to waste the time that he has with him. Time, after all, is a precious commodity.

Danny rushes to the edge of the ocean as soon as Steve sets him on his feet, body quivering with excitement. It’s clear to Steve that the only thing Danny’s waiting for is Steve’s permission to launch himself into the water.

“Hold on, Danny,” Steve says, and he gestures for Danny to join him on the beach while he sets up their towels and mats. “Do you know how to swim?”

Danny rolls his eyes and puffs out his chest. “Course I do. I’m real good too. I took classes at the Y.”

Steve kneels down in the sand, and rests his hands on Danny’s shoulders. He looks into Danny’s eyes, to convey the seriousness of what he’s about to say, because he doesn’t want this to be a traumatic experience for Danny.

“Swimming in the ocean is a lot different than swimming in a pool at the Y, Danny,” Steve says, and Danny nods. “There are strong currents in the water, and waves, and --”

“An’ fish,” Danny adds.

He’s completely subdued now, all traces of cockiness and laughter gone. So very much like an adult.

Steve nods. “And fish. Now, this is really important, Danny...”

Steve flashes back to when Danny had a similar talk with Grace, and he now understands why Danny was so fiercely protective of the little girl, why he hadn’t just let her run into the ocean without cautioning her about the possible dangers first. It’s dizzying as he realizes how easy it would be to lose the little boy standing in front of him. He wishes that he hadn’t made light of Danny’s fears that day. The fears of a father.

“Steve?” Danny jars Steve from the memory, and he gives the little boy a small, hopefully reassuring smile.

“Don’t go into the ocean without me, okay?” Steve gives Danny’s shoulders a light squeeze, and the little boy nods.

“Can we go in now?” Danny asks cautiously, his blue eyes veering away from Steve’s and out toward the ocean. He’s practically vibrating with excitement.

The waves are small, and Steve’s grateful for that. He doesn’t think he could handle bigger waves right now, and that makes him feel dizzy, because Steve’s not used to being tense or nervous around the ocean. He’d grown up on it, had made a living by it. He shouldn’t be nervous about it just because he’s got Danny with him.

They wade into the water, Danny holding onto his hand, and it takes awhile for Steve to allow Danny to swim away from him. It’s a new feeling for him – protective nervousness – and Steve doesn’t like it.

Steve wonders if his father ever worried like this when it came to letting him and Mary swim and play in the ocean. He doesn’t really remember what it was like to be a kid Danny’s age, swimming and playing tag, being launched into the water by his father.

Steve hoists Danny into the air, holds him up as high as he can. Danny’s got his arms spread wide and is shouting at the top of his lungs, “Fly me! Fly me!”

Steve makes a whooshing noise, and then he tosses Danny up and out, and the little boy flies through the air, ducks his head and plunges into the water. Waves wash over him, and Steve waits several heart stopping beats for Danny’s head to pop up out of the water. Though he’s spitting water out of his mouth and his arms are practically wind milling as he struggles to swim to Steve, Danny demands to be flown again, and again.

Steve begins to loosen up, because Danny’s never had this much fun in the ocean that Steve can remember. He’s always been stressed -- no doubt remembering what happened to his friend and worrying about what could happen to Grace or Kono or Steve.  

Steve wonders if this is what it’s like all the time for Danny -- the worry that something’s going to go wrong, that if he takes his eyes off of the place where Danny disappeared beneath the waves, he won’t resurface again. If so, he’s going to start making some changes, because worry like this is nothing to live with on a constant basis.

No one should have to live like that. It’s untenable, at least in Steve’s mind. It’s hard enough worrying about Danny as he is now -- so young and vulnerable, naive. Steve can’t imagine what it would be like to carry that kind of worry with him _all_ of the time, like Danny does when he’s an adult.

Hell, Danny’s probably been carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders since he was a kid, because Steve knows that he takes his big brother responsibilities to a whole new level of importance, unlike Steve with Mary. They’d been separated when they were kids, and they’d never really been all that close. Mary had never really been Steve’s responsibility when they were growing up, but Danny’d probably taken on the role of big brother with as much gusto and vigor as he did everything else in his life.

Steve, for the first time since they’ve met, is seeing Danny before all of that. Before he’d taken on the mantle of responsibility for his younger siblings, before he’d lost his friend, before life had thrown Danny curveball after curveball.

It’s as Steve’s tossing Danny high up in the air for what must be the thousandth time, that he notices they aren’t alone. He catches Danny before the little boy can hit the water, and pulls him close, clutching the little boy to his chest, shielding him from the possible threat on the beach.


	5. Lunch, Ice Cream and Phone Calls - Or, Steve Really Needs a Nap, but Can't Take One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve would like to take a nap, but there's a lot that still needs to be done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all of the support. It is greatly appreciated.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter. 
> 
> More Steve introspection, and Steve has to deal with Tony Stark.

“Looks like Danny’s enjoying the water for the first time since he’s come on island,” Kono calls out to them, and Steve’s heart resumes a somewhat normal pace as he realizes that there’s no danger to Danny or himself.

Kono’s standing in the shallows, phone shamelessly in hand. She’s smiling ear-to-ear.

Danny wriggles his way free from Steve’s hold, and swims like a torpedo toward Kono before Steve can reclaim his hold of the boy. Steve knows he’s got nothing to worry about. Kono grew up in these waters, was probably swimming before she learned how to walk, and Danny’s not a bad swimmer for a five-year-old.

“Kono!” Danny launches himself at her legs, wraps his arms around them, and it’s only because of her skills as a surfer that she’s able to keep her balance.

“Hi, Danny.” Kono takes a quick photo and tosses her phone toward the beach mats so that she can join Danny in the water. “Guess you remember me, huh?”

Danny nods eagerly, and smiles shyly at Kono. Even as a kid, Danny’s a charmer.

“Figured that you could use a hand with Danny,” Kono says. “Chin’s on his way with some grinds from Kamekona’s shrimp truck.” She wades into the water with Danny clinging to her hip.

“What time is it?” Steve drags a hand through his hair, squints at the sun to determine how much time has passed since he and Danny went out for their swim. The sun’s almost directly overhead.

Kono shrugs. “Eleven-thirty, give or take. I’d have been here earlier, but I decided to do a little clothes shopping for our guest first. Keep him fashionable, and, it looks like I made the right decision, huh boss?” Kono looks from the pink board shorts, cinched tightly around Danny’s waist, to Steve, arching an eyebrow.

“You work for Steve?” Danny twists his head to look at Kono, a look of awe on his face.

Kono nods, and touches her nose to Danny’s. She winks at him, and whispers, none too softly. “Yep, and a good thing too, because it looks like he doesn’t have very good taste in clothing.”

Danny tucks his head against Kono’s side to stifle his giggle. “He made me wear pink!” Danny’s own attempt at a whisper falls woefully short, and Steve can feel the tips of his ears beginning to burn.

Feeling sorely abused by the pair, and more than just a little embarrassed, Steve throws his hands in the air, and stalks toward the pair.

“They’re all I had available on such short notice.”

“He’s got a little girl,” Danny whispers. “I saw her picture, and he’s got _Barbies.”_ The last word is delivered with a little bit of disdain, and Kono laughs.

“I saw them,” Danny says seriously, nodding against Kono’s side. “And coloring books, but they were under the couch, and the crayons were broken.” Danny says the last few words as though possessing broken crayons is scandalous.

“Do you think Steve’s little girl will like me?” Danny slips free from Kono’s grip and swims around her.

“Are you kidding? She’d love you,” Kono says. “But, I think that she’s with her mom right now.”

Kono looks over at Steve, catching his eye to see if she’s said the right thing, and he nods. Danny’s brow furrows and Steve almost wants to swim away, because the look that Danny’s giving him is not one that he wants to deal with right now.

“Are you divorced?” Danny’s voice is thin, and concerned, and he looks over at Steve, his face scrunched up.

Steve frowns. He doesn’t want to keep lying to Danny, but he doesn’t see any other way, because it would be far more traumatic for him to tell Danny that Grace is really Danny’s daughter, and that it’s Danny who’s divorced. Steve nods, and Danny gives him a very sympathetic look for a five year old. It makes Steve’s heart clench.

Danny swims over to Steve, and gives him a hug. “I’m sorry.”

“Ah, that’s okay.” Steve feels awkward, especially when Danny squeezes him tight. Kono’s not much help as she’s stifling a grin behind her hand, and her eyes are suspiciously bright.

“Steve, Kono! Lunch’s here,” Chin calls from the beach. Kamekona’s with him, wearing a big, red aloha shirt and carrying a large bag, no doubt filled with food.

Steve hoists Danny out of the water, and the little boy scrambles up onto his shoulders.

“Ssss...COBRA!” Danny shouts, and he wriggles around, and Steve has to grip the boy’s legs tightly so that Danny doesn’t tumble into the water. “Ssss’render, now!”

Kamekona shivers dramatically, and Chin pretends to be afraid. Kono runs up the beach, hides behind Kamekona and Danny laughs like a miniature madman. It would be rather chilling, if it weren’t for the childish quality to it.

Steve’s heart climbs up his throat when the little boy totters and almost falls backwards, onto the sand, but Danny doesn’t seem to notice the danger that he’s in, he continues to laugh, and Steve makes quick work of wresting the boy from his shoulders and onto the sand. He breathes a little easier, and plasters a smile on his face when Chin’s lips twitch with mirth.

Chin kneels down so that he’s eye-level to Danny. “Hey, Danny, I don’t know if you remember me or not, but --”

“You’re Chin,” Danny says, tilting his head to the side, much like his adult self would do while questioning a suspect. He wraps his arms around his middle and sighs dramatically.

“I met you the other day. When I was at the hospital, because of ‘Loki’ and ‘magic.’” Danny uses air quotes, and whispers the hated words that he now thinks are code for what’s really going on.

It’s on the tip of Steve’s tongue to scold Danny for being rude, but he tamps down on that insane urge, and wonders how Danny’s mother put up with Danny’s forthright behavior. If maybe this is just another of those Williams’ traits. Grace is equally as candid.

“I see that you’re a sharp little boy, Danny,” Chin says, and he ruffles Danny’s wet hair, laughs when Danny reaches a hand up to smooth it out and scowls at him.

“I’m not a dummy,” Danny says defensively, and Chin leans in close, looks Danny in the eye.

“No, you’re not. You’re a very smart little boy.” Chin doesn’t look away until Danny loosens up, and gives Chin a shy look.

“Smart enough to dig into some of the island’s best cuisine?” Kamekona’s booming voice causes Danny to flinch slightly, and Steve places a protective hand on the boy’s shoulder, stands closer to Danny.

Danny, it turns out, likes garlic butter shrimp, doesn’t seem to mind getting his fingers greasy, or the rest of himself greasy for that matter. Kono takes over from there, gets Danny bathed, for the second time that day, and dressed in clothing that actually fits him. The Iron Man tee-shirt and jeans, though Danny’s unfamiliar with the superhero, he likes the bold gold and red colors.

“Hey, Steve, can Chin and I take Danny out for some ice cream?” Kono asks, she’s got Danny propped up on her hip, and the little boy is smiling from ear-to-ear.

His blue eyes are sparkling, his hands clasped together as though he’s got some secret that he’s dying to tell. The look he gives Steve nearly takes his breath away. Grace has nothing on her father’s puppy dog eyes, Steve decides, and he readily agrees to the plan, hoping that, with Danny out of the house, he can contact the Avengers again, get an idea of a timeline on how soon it’ll take for them to ‘fix’ Danny.

“Would you like us to bring you something back?” Chin asks, following after Kono and Danny.

Steve shakes his head, waves goodbye to the trio. Kamekona’s already left with plans to bring dinner later that night. Danny’s taken a liking to the big man, thinks that Kamekona’s some kind of food genius. The little boy’s got the man wrapped around his pinky finger. Hell, he’s got all of them wrapped around his little finger.

The first thing that Steve notices once Kono, Chin and Danny leave is the silence. It’s unsettling, rather than comforting, and Steve finds himself sinking down onto his couch, suddenly weary. Taking care of a child is far more exhausting than he’s ever given anyone credit for -- his mother, all mothers, Danny’s mother in particular, are saints, all of them.

Steve almost nods off, but catches himself just in time, and he pushes himself upright, takes a quick shower to rouse himself and wash the saltwater off from his impromptu swim with Danny. When he’s finished, he feels a little more refreshed, but has a new appreciation for the concept of naps.

He recalls his mom’s insistence that he and Mary take naps when they were younger, thinks that he remembers she would take a nap herself, and now, decades later, he understands why. He wonders if, when Kono and Chin bring Danny back from getting ice cream, he can coax the energetic little boy into taking a nap, even if he doesn’t get to take one himself.

The couch, hell, his bed, looks very inviting, but Steve bypasses the both of them in favor of heading into the kitchen and making what feels like the hundredth phone call to Tony Stark since this whole fiasco began.

In reality, it’s only the fourth call that Steve’s made – he’d made three while Danny had been confined to the hospital for testing – and during two of them, Stark had been unavailable due to something that had happened in the Avenger’s dealings with Loki. Steve hopes that the genius will have some answers now, three days after his last call.

“How ya doin’ Steve?” Tony Stark’s voice is just a little too cheerful and boisterous for Steve. “You don’t mind if I call you Steve, do you?”

“No, Steve’s fine, Mr. Stark,” Steve says, his patience wearing thin, and the headache that he’d thought had left him resurfacing. “Look, I --”

“Yes, you called because you want to know when your partner will be back to his adult self,” Tony cuts him off, and Steve grits his teeth.

Steve’s dealt with the man before, knows that this abrasiveness is a front, and that Tony’s probably worried about someone, possibly Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. It doesn’t make it any easier to put up with the man, though.

“Yes. I --” Steve doesn’t get to finish his thought.

“Bruce, er, Doctor Banner’s working on it,” Tony says. “He thinks that, because of the detective’s unprecedented move, sacrificing himself, it’ll take awhile for the effects to wear off. He’s looking at the DNA and blood samples that Queen’s hospital sent us a couple of days ago.”

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose, takes a deep breath, and lets it out. “I’m sorry, Mr. Stark, but --”

“Tony, or, if you want, Iron Man,” Tony says, and the pressure behind Steve’s eyes skyrockets just a little.

“I understand that you’re worried, Steve, but really,” and Tony’s voice finally drops an octave, and he slows down. “We’ve got the best man working on it. You’ll be the first to know, promise. Well, maybe not the first, but definitely the second, or maybe the third...”

“Tony, who’s that on the phone?” Captain America’s voice rings out across the connection, and Steve doesn’t know if that’s a good or bad thing, because he wants answers other than that he'll be the third to know how long Danny's going to be a five-year-old; how much longer he's going to have to lie to the kid.

"It's Steve McGarrett," Tony's voice is muffled. Steve bites back a groan of frustration.

"How's his partner doing? He return to normal?" Captain America's voice is concerned, and Steve wishes he was talking to him, instead of Tony.

"Not yet," Tony says. "Bruce is working on it. How's your shoulder holding up?"

While that explains why Tony is being particularly obtuse, knowing that Captain America was injured in the days long battle that brought Loki down is far from comforting. Steve wonders if there wasn't something more they could've done in Hawaii to stop the Asgardian.

"How's your wrist?" Captain America counters and Steve tamps down on the urge he has to reach through the phone and throttle the two, superheroes or not.

"It's fine, and shouldn't your shoulder have healed by now? Maybe you should eat something." Tony's voice is filled with worry, and Steve feels like he's intruding on something.

"Maybe I'd better call back," Steve mutters, doubting that Tony will hear him, as the man's focus appears to be on his fellow Avenger and Steve can't blame him.

If one of the members of his small task force was injured he'd be hard-pressed to care about anything else, especially if the injured party was Danny. Which, well, while Danny might not exactly be injured, his condition is still very much giving Steve cause for concern.

"What? Wait! No, no, sorry," Tony says. "Look, how about if I stop by, check out your partner myself, see if I can help speed things along. Bruce said something about how another sample of the detective's DNA and blood would be helpful, or making some first-hand observations. We can be over in a flash, well, not quite a flash, but in a jiffy. That is, if that's okay."

The last part is added hastily, Steve can hear Captain America coaching the multi-billionaire, telling him that he's got to ask permission and not make assumptions on people’s time. Steve smiles in spite of the spike of fear that Tony's words elicit.

Danny doesn't know about the existence of real life superheroes. His world consists of GI Joe and He-Man cartoons. Steve doubts that Danny's been exposed to comic books. Something Danny had once said as an adult makes Steve doubt that the five year old, even if he sees Iron Man in person, will have a hard time believing that superheroes exist. He'll probably think that Tony is nothing more than a man playing dress-up and that Steve is trying to trick him.

"Listen, uh, Danny doesn't know anything about the Avengers. He thought I was lying to him when I told him what really happened. He thinks that I'm his bodyguard because he witnessed a murder," Steve says, heart dropping when he remembers how frightened and worried the little boy had been when he'd admitted to what he'd seen by accident. How, even at such a young age, Danny seemed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Okay, discreet shall be my middle name," Tony says.

Steve doubts that the man is capable of being discreet, flamboyant is a much more likely middle name for Tony Stark, but he wisely keeps these thoughts to himself, knowing that speaking them aloud won’t get him anywhere.

"Thank you," Steve says, hoping that they'll have some answers soon.

"Be there in a jiffy," Tony promises before hanging up.

Steve stares at the phone for a few seconds before coming to his senses. He's got no idea of how to prepare for the Avenger's visit, and is momentarily lost in his thoughts of what he's going to tell Danny, how he's going to explain the stranger's visit.

As an adult, Danny's a big fan of Iron Man, applauding the man's genius, and the fact that Tony Stark is an ordinary man underneath all of the armor. He’s lectured Steve, a big fan of Captain America, and Grace, a fan of the Hulk, that ordinary people are capable of great acts of heroism as well, that serums and chemical alterations aren't a prerequisite to becoming a superhero. As a kid, though, Danny doesn't know anything about any of the superheroes, and had seemed confused with the outfit that Kono had purchased for him.

Steve has a feeling that he's going to have his work cut out for him when Danny returns with the cousins. Maybe he can convince the little boy to take a nap, and Tony's visit won't need to be explained away at all. If the man can take the additional samples and observe Danny without waking the little boy, it'll make everything easier.


	6. Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny comes back too keyed up to nap, and the Avengers visit. There's a lot more going on than what Steve's been led to believe; a lot for everyone to take in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. It does have 'supernatural' elements in it, and I hope that the explanation is suitable. 
> 
> Thanks so much to those who've been so wonderfully supportive. I hope you enjoy the chapter (in spite of any faults that it might have).

Of course things seldom go the way that Steve wants them to and Danny returns too excited and hyper to take a nap – though it’s not for lack of trying on Steve’s part. Kono and Chin are not the slightest bit apologetic, though Kono does get Danny's new clothes put away in Mary's old dresser.

It isn't lost on Steve that the trio's returned with a few more bags from some of the local shops. Danny's clutching an action figure in sticky fingers. From the looks of both his fingers and the action figure, Danny's partial to chocolate ice cream.

"How about if we get you cleaned up, buddy?" Steve suggests, holding his hand out to take Danny's newly prized possession.

"Steve, look, it's GI Joe!" Danny holds the figure out to Steve. He's bouncing on the balls of his feet, his eyes lit up with excitement.

Steve picks up the grimy toy and tries to return Danny's enthusiastic smile. The toy is sticky, and Steve quickly washes Danny's grubby hands and rinses off the stern-looking action figure. Danny grabs it from Steve and races into the living room.

By the time that Steve's got the kitchen sink into a semblance of order, Danny's got Grace's Barbie dolls set up along the edge of the couch. GI Joe is running some kind of rescue operation, and it doesn't look like Ken stands a chance against the damp soldier.

Danny's expression mirrors that of the action figure, and Steve surreptitiously takes a video as GI Joe expertly executes his rescue operation.

Even as a five-year-old, Danny's mind is sharp, and he leaves nothing to chance. Quickly seeing through Malibu Barbie's flimsy deception, he has GI Joe arrest her as an accomplice to the crime.

Danny flawlessly orchestrates the rescue of the trapped Barbies with a team which includes a rather kickass Summer Barbie, some dark-haired male Barbie doll that he hears Danny call ‘Steve,’ and one other male Barbie, this one a little shorter and stockier than Ken, as backup for the Army man. It’s rather endearing, and a little frightening how accurate Danny’s portrayal of how such a rescue operation would go down, even down to the gunplay that Danny reenacts.

Steve wonders if his five-year-old partner has retained some of his adult memories after all, or if he did this kind of thing as a child. He files that away as something to ask Danny’s mother sometime, after Danny’s himself once again.

Steve can’t believe that it’s only a little after one in the afternoon when Tony arrives, accompanied by Captain America, and a man who Steve assumes is Doctor Bruce Banner.

Danny and Kono are in the living room conducting a covert operation -- Kono’s using a bikini-clad Barbie to represent herself, and Danny’s got GI Joe, and the male doll he’d dubbed, Steve, in either hand.

Both dolls are conferring with Kono’s about how best to handle a bank heist. If they should go in with guns blazing, take out Ken and his Hench-woman, Malibu Barbie, before they know what’s hit them, or if they should try negotiating for the hostages -- a couple of yellow Lego men (something else that Chin and Kono had gotten during their ice cream trip), a very pregnant looking cheerleader Barbie (Steve can see some stuffed clothing leaking from beneath her lopsided belly), and several other toys scattered around his living room floor.

Chin is surveying the two over the top of a newspaper from the safety of Steve’s armchair. Every now and again he offers them a piece of advice, or points out a possible problem with a solution that they’ve posited. Danny calls him their chief, and looks to Chin when negotiations with Ken break down.

“He’s very astute for a five-year-old.” Captain America says, startling Steve, nearly giving him a heart attack, because he hadn’t heard the man arrive.

The Avenger places a hand on Steve’s shoulder, apologizes for startling him, and they both continue to watch as the hostage situation takes a serious turn when Ken and Malibu Barbie grab a hostage and try to shoot their way out of the bank rather than listen to Chin’s sound advice.

“Hey, kiddo.” Tony wastes no time intervening, and Steve blinks, because he hand’t realized that Tony was there either.

Tony kneels down beside Danny, seems not to notice the very perturbed and calculating look that Danny gives him when Tony interrupts his play. He produces, almost as if by magic, an Iron Man action figure from one of his suit pockets.

“I think GI Joe, and the very capable Lieutenant Kalakaua, could use a little help, don’t you?” Tony asks, and though Danny scoots over a little, narrows his eyes at the man, and looks him up and down, he concedes with a nod.

“Is that Iron Man? Like on my tee-shirt?” Danny asks. “Kono says that he’s a superhero, ‘cept superheroes aren’t real. They’re not like GI Joe, or Steve.” Danny holds both dolls up in his hand, and gestures toward the gold and red action figure in Tony’s hand with a tilt of his head.

“Well,” Tony says, leaning close and stage whispering into Danny’s ear. “Don’t say things like that too loudly, Iron Man has a very big ego, but he’s a very sensitive guy.”

Danny’s eyes go wide, and Steve takes a step toward the pair, wanting to scoop Danny up, but Captain America keeps a firm grip on his shoulder and shakes his head.

“Watch,” he says. “Tony’s got this; he’s not going to hurt your partner.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Steve sees that, who he assumes to be Bruce Banner, has approached the melee, and is now sitting cross-legged kitty corner from Danny. He’s making observations in a small, spiral notebook, watching Danny and Tony’s interactions carefully.

“I hope I didn’t hurt his feelings,” Danny says, and he turns to look directly at Tony, his blue eyes filled with worry.

“He can help if he wants to,” Danny decides magnanimously. “We can use all the help we can get.”

Tony and Danny huddle together, whispering their plans, keeping Kono and Chin apprised as they go. In the end, Ken and Malibu Barbie give up their hostages and are arrested. None of the hostages have been harmed, not even the one that Ken had tried to use as a shield. It was a close call, but Iron Man, working in conjunction with Danny’s team, saves the day.

“Thanks, Iron Man,” Danny’s Steve doll says in a low, growly voice. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”

Steve tries to keep his heart from soaring too high when the GI Joe doll is set aside, and it’s the ‘Steve’ doll that gets to fly off with Iron Man. Tries not to make too much of the fact that Danny had seemed to favor his ‘Steve’ doll over GI Joe.

Tony and Danny fly out to the lanai, followed by a disgruntled and grumbling Lieutenant Kalakaua who has to settle for using GI Joe’s jet. They continue their role play outside, and Steve finally gives up on keeping an eye on them when Captain America stands directly in front of him, cutting off his view. Steve gives it one last effort, standing up on his tip-toes, but the Avenger is taller than him by a good foot and a half, and Steve knows that he’s been beat.

Chin gathers up the discarded GI Joe and a few of the other dolls, and raises an eyebrow in question, jerking his head in the direction of the lanai. Steve nods, letting Chin join the others outside. Steve feels distinctly uncomfortable and intimidated when he’s alone with the two remaining Avengers.

Captain America gestures toward the couch and Steve sits, folds his hands in his lap, and tries not to fidget. It’s hard, though, because he’s always admired Captain America, and has a healthy respect for Doctor Bruce Banner and his alter ego. Wonders how the man can remain calm when he needs to, or if it’s a big struggle for him.

“Sorry that we couldn’t get here sooner,” Bruce says. He pulls his glasses off and cleans them, doesn’t quite meet Steve’s eyes until after he’s replaced his glasses.

Steve shakes his head. “That’s okay; I understand that you’ve been busy. It’s just...” Steve trails off, pulls his hand through his hair.

He’s suddenly exhausted. His eyes veer toward the lanai. Tony is flying Danny around the small space. The little boy has Iron Man in one fist, and the doll he’s named Steve, in his other, and Steve can hear his joy-filled giggles, though they’re muffled by the glass door.

“You’re worried,” Bruce says, and he places a hand on Steve’s knee, somehow having moved to sit beside him on the couch without Steve having noticed.

“It’s understandable. Tony was caught in Loki’s beam,” Captain America says, and there’s something in his voice that Steve recognizes, makes him do a double-take, because it’s odd for him to connect one of his personal heroes with the fear that keeps gnawing at his gut.

“How long?” Steve asks, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“Three days,” Bruce says, drawing Steve’s attention away from the window – that time period where Steve hadn’t been able to get a hold of Tony.

“Give or take a couple of hours. He took the full blast of the beam, like your partner did, spared Steve.” Bruce nods toward Captain America. “And the rest of our team. Made it possible for us to defeat Loki.”

Steve clenches his fist by his side, doesn’t like the similarities that he sees between his Danny and the playboy billionaire. Both men so willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others, and playing it off like it’s not a big deal.

“And, Danny?” Steve asks, turning his full attention to Bruce, though it’s hard for him not to keep Danny in his line of vision. He can see the little boy, and Tony, out of the corner of his eye, and feels a little better.

“How long was he out, after he was hit?” Bruce asks, and Steve takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and tries to remember every little detail that he can about that day. It feels like it was ages ago, but he knows that it was just yesterday that he brought a five-year-old Danny home with him.

Steve opens his eyes, and drops his head in his hands. It’s hard to remember, the events of the hours and days leading up to yesterday blend together, and Steve’s mind draws a blank. He remembers being terrified when Danny didn’t wake up, when his body didn’t return to its adult-self a few hours later, like the other officers Loki had afflicted.

“It’s okay if you don’t remember an exact time. Was it a few hours, or longer?” Bruce prods.

“Longer than a few hours, maybe half a day?” Steve guesses, turns to look at Bruce and finds comfort in the man’s kind eyes.

Bruce frowns and nods. “He must’ve been hit harder than Tony. I’d give it a little more time. Could be a couple more hours or a couple of more days. If it lasts longer than a week though, then we’ll need to be concerned.”

Steve wants to say, _That’s it?_ catches himself and says, “It’s already been five days. What if it doesn’t happen, what if Danny doesn’t return to normal?”

Bruce sighs and leans forward. “There’s no reason to believe that it won’t.”

“So, there’s no cure?” Steve asks, feeling the anger over what had happened to Danny and the others broil beneath his skin. He wants to explode, wants to take some of his frustration out on the calm man sitting next to him, telling him that there’s nothing he can do for Danny but wait.

Bruce seems to pick up on it, and he moves over a little, looks over Steve’s head toward Captain America, who places a hand on Steve’s shoulder. Whether it’s meant to calm him, or keep him in place, Steve isn’t sure. It takes willpower for Steve not to shrug the hand off, for him to turn his glare from Bruce, to Captain America.

“I understand,” Captain America says. “I almost spent a day in the gym, with the punching bag, when it looked like Tony might remain five. Not that he was a difficult child. He was full of questions, and had so much energy that it was all I could do to keep up with him.”

“But you missed him as a friend,” Steve supplies the rest. “Danny hasn’t stopped asking questions, nearly drove the medical staff crazy with his escape attempts.”

Steve laughs at the memory of one of the nurses chasing after the five-year-old who ran pell-mell into him and fell backwards, landing on his ass. Instead of crying or being thwarted, Danny had pushed himself up and scooted around Steve’s legs. He hadn’t made it past the first set of double-doors, though.

Chin had scooped Danny up and brought the squirming child back into the room, set him down on the bed and given him a serious talking to, about respect for elders and how it was important for him to stay at the hospital until they were sure that the immediate danger had passed. It was no wonder that Danny hadn’t forgotten about Chin, now that Steve thinks about it.

Though Danny thought they were making stories up, he’d listened to Chin, and had stayed put. Steve had tried not to let it get to him, that Danny listened to Chin better than he listened to him, but it had stung.

“Tony wasn’t much better himself,” Captain America says, and there’s a fond smile on his face, as though he’s remembering a moment similar to Steve’s. “At one point, we thought that he _had_ managed to escape.”

Steve and Captain America share a laugh at that. Steve tries to picture a five-year-old Tony, it’s almost too easy.

“Was he just as smart as he is now?” Steve jerks a chin in Tony’s direction. “When he was five?”

Captain America nods. “Yeah, almost scared me to death. He was so precocious. Sharper than a tack.”

Steve sighs. Danny, while he might not be the same kind of genius as Tony Stark, is pretty sharp himself. “Yeah, Danny’s certainly been keeping all of us on our toes.”

“He’s a great strategist,” Captain America says. “That was some pretty quick and smart planning he did.”

“And, to think he was just playing at cops and robbers,” Bruce adds, shaking his head in amazement.

“We know why Loki targeted the island, your group in particular,” Captain America says. Steve leans closer to listen.

“You’ve got a tight knit group; each of you has a keen intellect, and could pose a very real threat to any mastermind intent upon bringing the state or the country down.”

“What did Loki take?” Steve has to know, because it’s been eating at him for days now.

“Nothing,” Captain America says. “Except your detective and Tony. He was testing us. There were other groups throughout the world that Loki targeted; none of them had the same reaction as your team, and ours.”

“No one else sacrificed themselves for the good of the team?” Steve asks, correctly picking up on what Steve was intimating.

Captain America nods. It’s flooring, and Steve’s not sure what to do with that information. How to process it. It doesn’t seem to add up, that Loki would pick on different teams, the world over, just to gather information about them. See who would be willing to put themselves in the line of danger for the sake of their teammates. It doesn’t make sense.

Captain America shakes his head. “Just your Danny, and m...er, our Tony.”

Bruce raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t say anything to counter what the Captain’s said. The almost-slip in the Captain’s wording isn’t lost on Steve, but he doesn’t say anything, ignores the way that Captain America turns away and blushes. He understands, feels the same way about Danny.

“You still need that second sample of Danny’s DNA, and his blood?” Steve asks, needing to change the subject.

Queens Hospital had taken samples, had run tests, had come up with nothing. Steve’s hesitant to put Danny through that again. The little boy had been very good about it, had taken it all in stride, but Steve had seen how much it was getting to him toward the end. How the little boy’s patience was wearing thin. How all of the testing had scared him.

“I got the samples from Queens,” Bruce says, and holds his hands up when Steve frowns at him. “I don’t think I’ll need any further samples. I think that it’s just a matter of time before Danny returns to his correct age.”

“Does he...” Steve looks toward Tony.

Danny’s sitting on the genius’ lap, telling him some kind of story, his hands moving as he talks. Steve wishes that he could hear what Danny’s saying. Tony’s head is bent toward the little boy; Kono and Chin are both listening in as well.

“Remember?” Captain America prods, supplying the word that Steve can’t seem to voice. The one thing that’s been niggling him from day one.

Will Danny remember any of this? Will he remember waking up in the hospital? Coming home with Steve? Swimming in the ocean? Playing with Tony Stark/Iron Man? Seeking out Steve when he couldn’t sleep at night? Making waffles in the morning?

“A little,” Captain America says, and there’s something wistful, sad, in the superhero’s voice. “It’s almost like...”

“Like disjointed childhood memories,” Bruce finishes. “The memories that he built after the de-aging process seem to have become a part of Tony’s previous childhood memories. From what he’s said, other than the time he spent in the infirmary, they’re fond memories. Some of the best memories he has of his childhood, but it’s like they’ve always been there. Like he grew up with them.”

Steve nods, tries not to let the disappointment that he’s feeling show on his face. He shouldn’t be disappointed. Should be happy that Danny will be back to normal in just a few days, maybe a few hours. Should be happy that, if he’s reading Captain America and Doctor Bruce Banner correctly, the Avengers and Five-0 will be working together in the not too distant future.

“We think that Loki was looking for weaknesses in our top police forces and hoping to exploit them. He’s been stopped, and is currently being retained in a secure facility, off planet,” Captain America says, offering answers that aren’t really answers.

“But why turn police officers into children?” Steve asks. It seems foolish, bordering on idiotic.

“Well, from what I can best determine, Loki’s de-aging beam, for lack of a better name, taps deep into our subconscious, and unlocks some of our more primitive instincts. It has the potential to both better our species, and turn us into savage beasts.” Bruce looks down at his hands, seems to study them for a time.

“What does that mean for Danny?” Steve asks, doesn’t even want to think about all of HPD, Catherine.

“I believe that Loki’s beam, from what I’ve seen of Danny’s interaction with Kono, Chin and Tony, has unlocked Danny’s full potential, allowed him a greater use of his brain. It seemed to do that for Tony as well. I don’t think we have to worry about Tony or Danny becoming savage beasts.”

“So, Tony Stark is even smarter than he was before he was turned into a five-year-old?” Steve asks, frowning as he ponders the implications when Bruce nods.

“That, and a few other things,” Bruce says, pointing toward the window where Steve can see GI Joe, and Danny’s Steve doll floating above the little boy’s head.

Steve blinks and rubs his eyes. “Is that what I think it is?”

Bruce nods. “Telekinesis. I don’t think that’s what Loki had in mind when he used his weapon. Tony also seems to have the ability to predict the future, precognition, but not in a traditional sense. He can predict how events might turn out, given set circumstances.”

“So, is that Danny or Tony moving those dolls?” Steve asks. As he watches, the Iron Man action figure rises into the air, and Danny waves his hands around; the ‘Steve’ doll and GI Joe seem to be dancing in the air.

“I believe that both of them are,” Captain America says. “Before he re-aged, Tony was building robots in a similar fashion. He also, uh, seems to have a...kind of, um...connection? with me.”

Though Steve can’t see him, he can practically feel the superhero blush. “How so?” he asks anyway, because he’s got to know.

“Uh, Tony seems to know, kind of, in a way, what I’m thinking, how I’m feeling...” Captain America shrugs, trails off.

When Steve glances sideways at him, the Captain’s watching Tony, and the multi-billionaire, as Captain America suggested, seems to notice this, and looks up, grins and waves. The Iron Man doll doesn’t falter, but continues to fly, unaided, around Danny and Tony’s heads.

“Did this happen while he was still a kid?” Steve asks, eyes glued to Danny who is currently standing on Tony’s lap, arms stretched up and out. Steve holds his breath, lets it out when Tony pulls the boy down onto his lap.

Captain America shakes his head, shrugs. “I don’t know. Didn’t really notice until the other day when I wanted a glass of milk, and Tony brought it to me. He was on a completely different floor, said that he ‘felt’ me ask him for a glass of milk, that he was ‘compelled’ to bring it to me.”

“We think that these powers, for a lack of a better word, might continue to develop and evolve over time,” Bruce says. “Which is why I wanted to see Danny firsthand, determine what Loki’s beam had unlocked in him.”

“What about the others, the officers who were de-aged for a short while?” Steve asks, mesmerized by what he’s seeing Danny and Tony do outside. They’ve got a whole arsenal of Barbie dolls, Legos and action figures dangling in the air, and are, if Steve’s not mistaken, running through another rescue scenario. Ken, is, once again, showing his true colors by being a shady character.

“So far, there doesn’t appear to be any difference, or if there is, it’s been negligible, nothing like what Danny and Tony can do,” Bruce says. “From what I can tell, the longer the exposure to the beam, the stronger the result.”

“And no one’s shown any of those _other_ tendencies?” Steve asks. He doesn’t need anyone on HPD behaving like Neanderthals.

“No one yet,” Bruce says. “And I’m optimistic that we won’t find any, because of the minimal exposure that everyone else had to the beam. If Loki had concentrated it on just a few people, rather than spreading it around, we might see some of that happening, but, as is typical of glory-seeking megalomaniacs, he didn’t.”

“You don’t think...” Steve can’t finish the thought, refuses to think that his partner could become some kind of monster.

“No,” Bruce says, patting Steve’s knee. “Nothing in the brain scans or the DNA that Queens sent us has shown that kind of devolvement. Far as we can determine, Loki’s plan backfired.”

Steve lets out a relieved breath, and falls back against the couch cushions. “What’s going to happen to Danny?”

“We aren’t going to take him from you,” Captain America is quick to reassure Steve. “If that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Though, we will, if you’re amenable to it, borrow your team on occasion,” Tony says. He’s got Danny dangling upside down, the action figures trailing in the air behind them. Chin and Kono follow the odd looking troupe.

“That is, if Danny, here, doesn’t mind,” Tony says, flipping Danny over and setting him on his feet.

Danny races over to Steve, and taking him by surprise, Danny launches himself into the air, and onto Steve’s lap with a solid, oomph that knocks the air out of Steve. The toys that Danny’s controlling with his mind suddenly surround them, creating a kind of barrier between the two of them and everyone else.

“Look what I can do, Steve,” Danny’s energetic voice practically bounces off the walls.

“I can make them fly, just like Tony; did you know he’s Iron Man, that Iron Man is a real superhero? Did you know superheroes exist, Steve? Are you a superhero too? Tony says I am. He says that I can make things happen with my mind. My ma always says that you can do anything you put your mind to. Do you think that she meant this?”

Steve has no idea which question to answer first, figures that it doesn’t really matter. Instead, he says, “Wow. That’s really cool, Danno.” Understatement of the year.

“Is this why I can’t go home?” Danny asks, settling into Steve’s lap so that he can peer up into Steve’s face.

“Because I’ve got _magic_?” he whispers the last word. “You weren’t lying when you told me about the _magic_ , were you?”

Steve shakes his head, his stomach dropping, because now Danny will be able to call him out on the bodyguard lie. He steels himself, reasoning that he shouldn’t be afraid of facing a five-year-old, Daniel Williams or not.

Steve’s not prepared for the great big hug that Danny gives him or the shy, yet exuberant kiss that Danny plants on his cheek.

“Thank you for ‘tecting me, an’ not lyin’ to me. Don’t tell Ma ‘bout Little Tony, ‘k? She’ll be mad. I wasn’t a‘posed to be there.”

“Okay, Danny, I won’t tell your Ma,” Steve says, placing a protective hand on Danny’s head. “You’re safe here.”

“I know,” Danny says. “You’re safe. You _feel_ safe.” Danny sniffs the air, his nose crinkles and he looks sideways at Steve, cocks his head. “You _smell_ safe.”

Steve quirks an eyebrow, and looks down at Danny. “You telling me that I stink, Danno?” He tickles the little boy, and is rewarded with a riot of happy laughter.

“You smell good, and strong,” Danny says, when he manages to catch his breath. “Like...” Danny tilts his head to the side, squints his eyes, and sticks his tongue out between his lips. “Like...a fireman, and, and, and GI Joe!”

“So, does that mean Steve smells like a plastic doll?” Kono asks, giggling, drawing Danny’s attention to the others in the room.

Danny rolls his eyes, and drops the action figure shield that he’d had surrounding him and Steve, lets them fall to the floor in an orderly heap.

“Steve smells like the ocean and gunpowder and oil and fire, like my dad after work,” Danny explains. He folds his hands together and then spreads them outward. “He smells safe, and strong.”

“Heightened sense of smell,” Bruce intones, jots it down in his notebook, and Danny leans across Steve’s lap to take a closer look at the man.

“You smell like...” Danny scrunches his nose, tugs on Bruce’s sleeve, and sniffs. “Like...” he tilts his head, sticks his tongue out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrates. “Like dirt and trees on a rainy day.”

“And what kind of smell is that, Danny?” Bruce asks, meeting Danny’s gaze head on.

Danny seems to consider the question carefully, rolling it around in his mind. Danny purses his lips, and takes a deep breath. “It’s a good smell,” he says carefully. “A nice smell. A _kind_ smell.”

“Kind?” Bruce frowns, blinks, looks away briefly before smiling at Danny.

“Yeah, kind. You smell kind,” Danny spreads his hands wide, and draws them inward as he speaks. Almost like he’s drawing a heart in the air. “And good,” Danny adds. “I like you.”

Bruce clears his throat. “Thank you, Danny. That means a lot.”

Danny pats Bruce’s cheek, and then kisses it. Steve wonders if Danny has always been that demonstrative of a child. Files that away in the back of his mind as yet another question to ask Mrs. Williams when he calls her sometime later this week.

“Does everyone have a smell?” Bruce asks after a moment.

Danny nods. “Yep. Steve?” He turns around, looks Steve in the eye.

“Kono said that she’d teach me how to surf. Can I learn how to surf?” There’s just a little bit of wheedling in his voice, just enough to pull at Steve’s heartstrings.

“Please? I can balance real good, an’...”

“We’ll see, Danno,” Steve says, heart flip-flopping in his chest. “But, I think that before we go back outside, we need to rest a little, and...”

“Can I call my ma an’ tell her about my magic?” Danny asks, blue eyes sparkling.

“Uh...” Steve turns toward Bruce, who looks to Captain America and Tony.

“Look, buddy,” Tony says, drawing Danny’s attention by placing a hand on his shoulder. “I know that you really want to tell your mom all about what you can do, because it’s really cool, but we...”

Danny frowns, and his forehead scrunches up in thought, and he says, slowly, hesitantly, as though the words are coming to him bit-by-bit, “Have to keep it a secret.” Danny sighs, and his shoulders sag.

“I don’t want my Ma to get into any trouble,” Danny adds, his voice growing soft. “She’d be in danger if I told her, wouldn’t she?”

Tony nods, and Steve tenses, fingers itching to draw Danny close and keep him safe.

“Danny, did you see your mom in danger, just now?” Bruce asks.

Danny shudders and nods. “She was scared, and...” Danny’s brow furrows in confusion. “She looked older, though. Older even than Steve and you.”

Tony laughs. “Older than me, huh? Probably not as old as my friend here.” Tony gestures toward Captain America. “Danny Williams, meet Captain America, better known to his friends as Steve Rogers.”

Danny studies Captain America carefully, and finally holds out his hand. Captain America shakes it. Danny leans close to Tony and whispers. “He doesn’t _look_ very old, but he does smell like my gran’pa’s attic an’ fresh air.”

“Looks can be deceiving,” Tony says, winking at Captain America, who rolls his eyes.

“You’re a superhero, too, aren’t you?” Danny guesses. “Is he one, too?” Danny gestures toward Bruce.

“He sure is,” Captain America answers. “We all are.”

“Wow,” Danny says, and Steve can practically see the stars in the little boy’s eyes. “Do you wear a costume, like Iron Man?” he asks Captain America.

“It’s a little different,” Captain America says, an amused look on his face, he casts a look in Tony’s direction that Steve can’t decipher, and the genius shrugs, grins sheepishly.

“Cool. Can I have a costume?” Danny scoots across Steve’s lap so that he’s closer to Captain America.

Captain America nods. “Sure you can. Tony, here, can make you one. Can’t you, Tony?”

“Absolutely.”

“Can it be blue an’ red an’ green? Like Steve an’ GI Joe?” Danny lifts the two dolls into the air in front of Tony’s face, wiggles them around.

Tony clutches them out of the air, and studies them seriously, before nodding and then returning them to Danny.

Kono rubs her eyes. “I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to seeing that.”

“Me either,” Chin says.

“So, Tony started displaying these ‘abilities’ before he...” Steve gestures toward Tony.

“Yes,” Bruce confirms.

“So, that means Danny will turn back to his normal self soon?” Kono asks.

“I _am_ my normal self.” Danny glowers at Kono, nearly hits Steve and Captain America with his hands when he talks.

“Sorry, Danny, I just...” Kono blushes and looks toward Chin who shakes his head.

“Don’t look at me, cuz,” Chin says, a small smile playing about his lips.

They all laugh, and Danny settles back against Steve, his eyes lowered to his lap. Sensing the little boy’s unease, Steve holds Danny a little tighter.

Danny leans heavily against Steve, his eyelids drooping. Danny’s lethargy is so sudden, and unexpected that, at first, Steve’s heart seizes in fear, because the little boy had been so energetic and lively just a moment ago, and now he’s crashing.

Tony reaches over, touches Steve’s wrist, offers him a smile. “He’s had a busy day. Moving objects with your mind takes a lot of energy. So does ‘reading’ people.”

Steve nods, and turns his attention to Danny. Ignoring everyone else in his crowded living room, Steve focuses on caring for the child sitting on his lap.

“You tired Danny?” Steve whispers, brushing Danny’s hair away from his forehead with the back of his hand. The little boy’s forehead is warm, his cheeks rosy, and his blue eyes are a little glassy.

Danny stifles a yawn with a fist and nods, shifts and buries his face against Steve’s chest. “Uh-huh.”

“I believe that’s our cue,” Captain America says, his voice quiet. Steve catches his eye, and gives the Avenger a grateful look.

“What? We’re leaving already?” Tony’s walking around Steve’s living room, peering into the various nooks and crannies, touching the knickknacks that line his shelves.

There’s a picture of Steve and Danny, arms wrapped around each other’s waists. It’s a photo that Kono had taken several months ago; Danny and Steve hadn’t even been looking at the camera, they’d been looking at each other, the sunset a riot of colors behind them serving as a lovely backdrop. Tony plucks it up off Steve’s father’s desk, studies it. His lips quirk upward and he casts a curious look in Captain America’s direction before carefully replacing the framed photo.

“Tony,” Captain America’s voice is firm, yet warm. “Danny needs his rest, and...”

“I was thinking,” Tony says, talking over the Captain, “that we could, you know, maybe stay in Hawaii for a couple of days for a little R & R. We could use it after that last little fiasco with Loki, and, Bruce could keep an eye on Danny, see how he’s doing, you know…after.”

Captain America shakes his head, opens his mouth, but snaps it shut when Tony holds a hand, palm up.

“I’ve always wanted to visit Hawaii,” Tony says, moving forward as he speaks. “Mom and dad promised to take me with them once, but something came up...and...” Tony trails off, shrugs, looks at the floor, and Captain America’s face softens.

“Fine, but --”

“Great, I’ve got just the place in mind,” Tony says, rubbing his hands together. “It’s a quaint little...”

Steve loses track of the conversation, finding it hard to keep his own eyes open as Danny’s droop. Kono’s and Chin’s voices join Tony’s, Captain America’s and Bruce’s in a low humming drone of sound that Steve finds difficult to follow.

Beneath all of that noise is the sound of Danny’s breathing, a steady in and out susurration that Steve centers on. Danny clutches Steve’s shirt, fists the fabric in a hand, and Steve, only half aware of the plans being made for dinner and future visitations and joint campaigns, holds Danny close and stands, heads toward the sanctuary of his room.

He acknowledges Bruce’s quiet nod and, “Sleep well.” with a nod of his own.

Naps have never been on Steve’s to-do list. He’d always scoffed at them as a child, but now he thinks he understands the necessity of them.

He lies Danny down on the bed, intending to go to Mary’s room and rest for a few minutes, but Danny’s hold on him is tight, and the little boy refuses to let him go. Danny’s slit open, and he shakes his head.

“Don’t go.” Danny’s words are quiet and slurred. His eyes slide closed, but his grip on Steve’s shirt remains firm.

“Okay, Danno,” Steve whispers, and he lies down beside Danny.

Danny turns his face toward Steve’s chest, nestles against him, and sighs deeply. Danny’s brow smoothes out, and he smiles in his sleep, still clutching Steve’s shirt.


	7. The End - A New Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve has learned a great deal, and Danny's grown as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'm not sure about the ending, or even the last chapter, and because I am not certain about any of this, I'm posting this final chapter. Also, I am going to be neck deep in work for the next week or so, so, I am not going to post-pone the inevitable. 
> 
> To those who've read and enjoyed, in spite of my errors, thanks. Hope you're not too disappointed by the ending, or even by that last chapter.

Steve doesn’t know when he falls asleep, and is only dimly aware that any time has passed at all when he starts to wake. He can tell that time’s passed; however, because the sky’s a different shade of blue, the sun’s higher in the sky.

When he does finally manage to pry his eyes fully open, Steve feels a moment of panic, because Danny’s not lying beside him. The little boy’s body heat had been like sleeping next to a furnace, and now it’s gone, leaving Steve cold, and worried.

On full alert, Steve sits up, prepared to conduct a thorough search through his house -- the entire island if need be. He casts his eyes around the room, and nearly collapses in relief when he finds Danny.

The little boy is sitting cross-legged on the floor, playing with his GI Joe and Steve dolls, whispering furiously. Holding some type of heated conversation between the two dolls that Steve’s not privy to.

Steve holds his breath, tries to listen in, because there’s something happening. He can feel it -- a shift in the air, in Danny. He can’t put his finger on it, and, when he tries to move, to close the distance between himself and the little boy on the floor, he can’t. Can barely breathe.

Frozen in place, Steve can only watch as the air around Danny seems to fluctuate. The early evening sunlight captures the dust motes in stark relief around the little boy -- like a halo. They appear to be dancing. Mesmerized by the tiny specks, Steve can only watch as Danny himself appears to waver before his eyes. His small frame flickering in and out of existence.

Steve’s heart stop-starts, and then it’s galloping in his chest, and time is fast-forwarding, and Danny’s body is being twisted and warped, melting into the hardwood floors, and Steve’s helpless to do anything about it. Can only watch, hand reaching out toward the little boy, only to blink and find that, in place of the little boy is a man.

Danny’s eyes are wide as saucers, reminiscent of the wonder they’d held as a child. He’s naked, kneeling, the GI Joe doll clutched tightly in one hand, and the Steve doll clutched in the other, and he’s looking at Steve, mouth open in a small ‘O’ of surprise.

“Danny?” Steve finds his voice, his breath, and the ability to move all at once.

He rushes to Danny’s side, gathers the child-man in his arms, and holds him, feels Danny’s shoulders quake.

Danny’s shaking, and he’s still whispering, but Steve can’t make out the words.

_Cold._

_Scared._

_Confused._

Steve sees those words in his mind, as though they’ve been written there, and maybe they have. Maybe Danny, like Tony with Captain America, is somehow connected to Steve on some telepathic level. Except, rather than Danny getting Steve’s thoughts, Danny’s able to project his thoughts and feelings onto Steve.

Maybe it’s a two-way street, and Danny will be able to get a feel for Steve’s thoughts as well. The possibilities are overwhelming, and yet they aren’t. Steve feels a sense of calmness sweep over him. It feels right and okay, seeing Danny’s thoughts projected on his mind, and Steve knows, deep in his gut, that he can handle this. That, given time and practice, Danny and he will be _good_ at this. Whatever _this_ is.

Danny’s head is tucked into the crook of Steve’s neck. He’s abandoned his toys in favor of holding onto Steve, grasping the fabric of Steve’s tee-shirt between his fingers, like he’d done before their nap, before waking up, before transmogrifying. His constant, harsh whispering stops. He breathes, and it seems to Steve like Danny’s breathing him.

“It’s okay, Danno,” Steve murmurs, his lips brushing across the back of Danny’s neck. “I’ve got you, buddy. You’re okay.”

“Steve?” Danny’s voice is soft, tentative, a mimicry of the child’s. It tugs at Steve’s heart, and Steve kneads the back of Danny’s neck with his thumb.

“You’re okay, Danno,” Steve repeats.

_Dizzy._

“How about if we get you off the floor, and into bed?” Steve’s already got his arms beneath Danny’s, and he’s pulling him up, moving him toward the bed before Danny can respond, because Danny’s still cold, and the ghost of  Steve’s warmth still lingers on the bed sheets.

“Steve?” Danny’s voice is stronger, more like the man that Steve knows and loves.

“I’ve got you, Danno,” Steve reassures him, tucks Danny into bed, brushes the hair off his forehead. It’s loose, wavy more than curly, a duller blonde than the little boy’s riot of curls had been.

“Was it all a dream?” Danny asks around a yawn, his eyes already closing.

“No, Danny, it wasn’t a dream.” Steve kisses Danny’s forehead, feels some of Danny’s confusion and the fear bleed away.

“Good,” Danny murmurs. “Don’ want it to be a dream.”

Steve moves to stand, to let Danny sleep and regain his strength after the transformation, but Danny’s got a tight hold of his shirt, and Steve chuckles. He sits down beside Danny and rests a hand on the man’s cheek.

“Danny, you can let go now,” Steve says.

Danny shakes his head, manages, with great effort, to open an eye.

“No.”

That one word seems to sap Danny of every last reserve of energy, and he takes several deep breaths.

“Don’t go,” Danny says, and he loses the battle to keep his eye open, though his fingers maintain their chokehold on Steve’s shirt.

“Okay, Danno,” Steve says. “I’ll stay and keep you safe.”

“Whaddaya need, Danny?” Steve’s heart is racing, and his head’s spinning.

_You._

“Okay,” Steve says, nodding, a little dizzy himself from the array of words that Danny’s projected into his mind in bright gold lettering, and he stretches out on the bed beside Danny.

Danny turns toward him, buries his face into the crook of Steve’s neck and breathes; smiles.

“Safe,” he whispers, and then he falls off to sleep.

“Yeah, Danny,” Steve says, and it’s a promise. “I’ll keep you safe, always.”

Steve drifts off to memories of his time spent with Danny as a child -- his heart is heavy, and yet he’s happy, because it was something special. Something that he knows he’s going to treasure for as long as he lives.

The memories twist and turn, go topsy-turvy, and Steve suddenly sees himself through the eyes of a child, through Danny’s eyes. Sees himself as strong, capable, loving, and simply, there. Fun and serious. Safe.

Steve feels an almost overwhelming warmth sweep over him -- it holds him like a lover’s arms. Light engulfs him, and the memories switch. He and Danny are adults, equals. And when he sees himself through Danny’s eyes, he’s strong, capable, loving...there. He’s fun and serious and safe.

He’s Steve, and _he’s_ love.

He’s _Danny’s_ superhero.

It’s a lot to take in, but Steve’s filled with a sense of peace. A sense that, over time, things will sort themselves out and that he and Danny will be together, no matter what the future brings.


End file.
